


By My Blood

by ariawrites



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: ...this is the fic for you, Action, Angst, BFF WooSan, Blood, But it's not really permanent cause...ghost, Dash of light murder, Ghost Wooyoung, Halloween Woosan because I'm a Halloween enthusiast, I repeat, I've even got historical fun times in here, If you've ever pictured Wooyoung in historical drama attire complete with long hair, It's time to partake in an arcane ritual because what could possibly go wrong, M/M, Me being me....there's also fluff, Pinch of murder mystery, Shocking I know, Smidge of Violence, So does it really count as a character death?, THERE IS NO PINING FOR ONCE, human san, there is no pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 07:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21193970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariawrites/pseuds/ariawrites
Summary: Choi San is in love with with his best friend of two years Jung Wooyoung and fortunately for him...Wooyoung returns those feelings. Unfortunately, Wooyoung was murdered centuries ago meaning that he's...well...dead. Or to be more specific, he's corporally challenged.However, San thinks he might have found a way around that...a way to give them both the happy ending that they so desperately want.The ghost woosan au that nobody asked for, but that you're getting because I'm a Halloween enthusiast. Says so right there in the tags.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,  
So because I love Halloween, I've got a fair few Woosan Halloween au's already written, or in the process of being written. Mostly one-shots but there's a couple of multi chaps although they won't run for very long, and I'll be editing and posting all of them for this week although some of them might go over in to November because my writing time has been limited lately and I'm behind :') 
> 
> This wasn't supposed to be as long as it was, it doubled in word count when I edited it. I was gonna be mean and cut it in to three parts, but I decided not to. Although I was gonna be super, evil genius mean and leave the final part for a second chapter...you can thank me for reigning in my inner demon at the end ;) 
> 
> You can also thank svtstarlight that you're getting this because I wanted to post something for her to read and she chose this one, so I edited it a lot faster than I would have <3 
> 
> Don't forget to check out my note at the end! 
> 
> EDIT: Yeah I ended up cutting this in to three chapters to make it easier to read after publishing it :')

Choi San was head over heels in love with his best friend, in fact he had been falling for him ever since he found him on that fateful day two years ago. Wooyoung had been ethereally beautiful, the most beautiful boy San had ever seen in his life, and San had found himself utterly entranced by him. Unable to take his eyes off of him for even a moment and no doubt staring at him like a complete moron. There had been no question about it, of course San was going to help him. How could he not? He couldn't just leave Wooyoung there by himself, all alone. So San had brought him home with him and they'd been best friends ever since. Their friendship building up from those first few days as they bonded, becoming stronger and stronger as the days turned in to weeks, and the weeks turned in to months...with San's feelings for Wooyoung developing right along with it.

Luckily for San Wooyoung returned his feelings, although it had taken him longer to realise what it was he was feeling and come to terms with it, not exactly a surprise given his...upbringing, but either way San loved Wooyoung, Wooyoung loved San and San couldn't be happier about it. He truly felt like he'd found his soulmate, the person he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. The other half of him. There was just one, teeny, tiny, slight little problem...Wooyoung was dead. And he had been for a _really _long time judging by the way the boy was perpetually dressed, an outfit change not really an option for him.

If San wasn't mistaken, Wooyoung appeared to have died at some point during the Goryeo Dynasty, but when exactly? San didn't have a clue. Wooyoung was quite tight lipped about the whole thing, only letting a little tidbit of information drop here or there, but his clothing was simply stunning. The type he had only ever seen in historical dramas, although Wooyoung's made the beautiful drama costumes look garish. Wooyoung's one and only outfit was a wonderfully elegant mix of black and a shade of mid blue. The entire outfit made out of the best silk you could probably get your hands on at the time. The under layers of his garments were mostly blue and were subtly patterned, the collar edged with black, his billowing sleeves ending in a matching black edge. The sleeveless outer layer worn over it was mostly black and featured more of that same subtle pattern, but the trim and the matching belt were that same mid blue shade as beneath. Though the pattern this time was of delicate silver flowers. The belt was decorated with a pretty silver pin, oval shaped, made up of delicate swirls and decorated with real, stunning opals. A single red tassel dangled from it.

Wooyoung himself was just as beautiful as his clothing with gorgeous smooth skin, his hair worn in the typical Goryeo fashion meaning that it fell to his mid chest with half of it pulled up in to a ponytail and secured with a delicate silver holder. A matching silver hairpin stuck through it to secure it all in place and his bangs swept over to one side of his forehead giving you an excellent view of his perfect features. San loved every single thing about Wooyoung, the differentiation in the shape of his eyes, the freckle on his bottom lip...his lips in general, if he was being honest. They just looked so...kissable. Not to mention his strong, solid frame and the fact that he was the perfect height for San.

From what he had been able to gather from Wooyoung, the boy had been the eldest son of a noble, a member of the aristocracy through and through. Trained in sword fighting, horse riding, and archery to the extent that he had been the best in the kingdom at the time, as well as a myriad of other things. Wooyoung had been the heir, he'd been expected to take over his father's position, or to command armies perhaps, depending on the path history decided to take. But beneath all of that Wooyoung was gentle, and kind. He'd much rather spend his time reading a book than hacking away at someone with a sword.

San would have quite liked to know when exactly it was that Wooyoung had been alive, maybe tried to track him down in the history books and the records...to learn more about him, glean any piece of information he could. How he lived, what life had been like at the time, San wanted to know so much. He wanted to know _everything _that there was to know about Wooyoung and what his life had been like...how it had ended. But Wooyoung didn't seem inclined to tell him any more than he already had, and San hadn't quite wanted to ask him in case he upset him. After all, it might have happened a long time ago but Wooyoung had died...remembering how and why, and what he'd lost would still no doubt hurt no matter how much time had passed.

So all San knew, aside from his status in society and a few other tidbits, was that Wooyoung had lived during the Goryeo dynasty...and he'd been murdered. San figured your own death was probably a touchy enough subject alone, without throwing in the fact that you'd been murdered so he didn't push, and he didn't pry. Wooyoung had been ripped from this world, from everything he knew and loved before his time. Before he'd really gotten to live all that much, for who knew what reason. San couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hurt Wooyoung, he wasn't the kind of person that you'd maintain a grudge against, that you'd want to _kill. _San assumed it was some sort of power struggle perhaps? That was how it often went in the dramas after all. Poor Wooyoung killed for some incredibly stupid reason, for someone's ambition. A light snuffed out for no reason. He couldn't imagine how lonely it must have been for Wooyoung, spending all those years initially trapped at the place he'd died, watching time move forward without him, perhaps even watching as his family aged and died right before his eyes...but as the years had passed and he'd become stronger, he had been able to wander from his death place. Albeit alone and with not a soul to talk to, other than the odd fellow spirit he came across. Of course not every ghost was as...coherent, let alone as talkative as Wooyoung, San would know, he'd been able to see them his whole life. It was some strange little quirk he'd been born with, some people were double jointed, others had different coloured eyes...San could see ghosts. Of course he didn't usually bring the ghosts that he saw home with him. Then again he'd never quite met a ghost like Wooyoung before.

San still remembered the day vividly. He'd been visiting Gyeongbokung Palace one summer on a trip to Seoul, excited to explore such a beautiful place, take in some history...and maybe he'd been on a bit of a historical drama kick at the time too and had wanted to check out the filming location of a few of his favourite dramas, who hadn't? He'd spotted Wooyoung on said trip, leaning on the railing of the palace's pavilion. He'd been gazing out at the lake, a wistfully sad look on his face and seemingly lost in his thoughts. Wooyoung had later told him that his best friend had been a King of Goryeo, and while Goryeo's famous main palace had burned to the ground and Gyeongbokgung was nothing at all like it, apparently the main palace of Wooyoung's time had been much grander, and much more lavish...though the colour scheme was largely the same, but the lake reminded him of times spent with his best friend, playing in the water, fishing, swimming and having tea beside the water, among other things. Times long gone, a friend he hadn't been able to see in decades, but memories that Wooyoung presumably clung to in order to remember what it was like to not be so alone. He'd looked so sad gazing out across the water, a lonely, hunched figure in the middle of a bustling tourist site. San had known immediately that Wooyoung was a ghost, even without the other tourists apparent inability to see him as they walked right past him without a second glance...or through him in some cases. His clothing had been too out of place, too rich and of too high quality to be some sort of costumed performer for the palace. He was clearly the real deal, though San had been surprised to see a ghost quite so old.

Of course, San hadn't been as surprised as Wooyoung had been when San had made his way over to him...and then spoken directly to him. Apparently he was the first person who had ever been able to see Wooyoung...or at least the first who hadn't pretended they couldn't see him right along with everyone else. The first who'd actually bothered to approach him...to talk to him. San was the first conversation Wooyoung had in...who knew how long. San had wanted nothing more than to help Wooyoung move on to his next life, so that he could finally be at peace...but they just couldn't figure out why he hadn't already. San had a few suspicions about it all, Wooyoung might not be willing to admit why exactly he hadn't moved on...wouldn't admit what was really holding him here, if he even knew himself that is. San thought it might be anger at his unjust death, that was the standard sort of thing he'd seen when it came to the ghosts of murder victims, but...Wooyoung hadn't shown the slightest hints of it. He hadn't become a vengeful spirit and if he had become at peace with it he would have moved on, although San supposed that if he hadn't admitted it to himself...or was still wrestling with an emotion to do with it...that could very well be the reason why. Either way, there wasn't much they could do about it considering his killer had long since died themselves, and Wooyoung had remained stuck.

San had wondered if finding out who had killed Wooyoung and somehow...correcting it in the history books, outing his murderer for what they were and making sure all knew of what they'd done _if _Wooyoung and his murder had even been recorded in the first place. San assumed it may have been given Wooyoung's status, but he hadn't managed to track it down in any of his reading so far, and he also assumed that Wooyoung's killer would be someone of a similar status perhaps...and no doubt they'd managed to get away with it all these years, or perhaps he'd just been watching one too many dramas. He'd even entertained the idea of simply just telling Wooyoung's story in a bid to get justice that way, so that people would know who he had been if he'd been wiped from the records as San sometimes suspected given his lack of luck when it came to finding anything about Wooyoung. He'd trawled every single record he could get access to and he hadn't found hide nor hair of him, though he supposed considering how long ago it had been that wasn't too suspicious. But Wooyoung was tight lipped about how he'd died, even more so than how he'd lived, and San didn't want to force him to talk about such a no doubt painful topic. To make him relive that time when he it was something he clearly wanted to forget.

So San had insisted on bringing Wooyoung home with him after his trip, allowing the ghost to move in with him. His roommate that could be seen by he alone, then his best friend...and then his boyfriend. As much as you could be anyway, when you couldn't touch your other half for very long at all and you had yet to actually share a kiss. Much to San's disappointment, the most he'd gotten was a quick peck to the lips. Despite how old of a ghost Wooyoung was, and while he'd been strong enough to break away from his place of death...he still could only touch things for a short amount of time. It required a lot of energy, and the more of his energy he used the more...translucent Wooyoung became. San was scared that if Wooyoung used too much energy to try and touch him...to kiss him or to hug him when he needed a cuddle, Wooyoung would use all of his energy and disappear. Perhaps if he'd been an angrier ghost, more vengeful, he'd be able to touch things for longer. To move objects and then San would finally be able to kiss him...but that wouldn't be the Wooyoung that San knew and loved, and he'd be one step away from being a poltergeist. San wouldn't have helped such a ghost and he certainly wouldn't have invited him home with him. They wouldn't have bonded, their relationship would never have blossomed and San wouldn't have Wooyoung at all. Of course Wooyoung hadn't always been so weak, he _had _been stronger once upon a time, but that was decades ago. When living people remembered him..._mourned _him, left him offerings and whispered prayers for him. But now, there was no-one to do so, and so Wooyoung's newfound strength had faded as he faded from the memories of his family. As his story was no longer passed from generation to generation the longer time had gone on. San was the only person alive who knew who Wooyoung was, who he'd been, and his offerings didn't contribute much.

But still, he'd tried, and Wooyoung had been touched at the effort San went to in order to try to help him, just one of the building blocks that had led up to their relationship. Of course a large part of their initial bonding had taken place as San had spent a lot of his time teaching Wooyoung modern language...and slang, as well as everything there was to know about modern life even if Wooyoung hadn't been quite so receptive in the beginning, all in a bid to get Wooyoung to relax a little from his stiff posture, stiff language and stiff views on...everything. Time had passed around Wooyoung, while he had remained unchanging for the most part, of course he'd picked up changes in language, the development of the country as history pressed on and so on, but San had decided it was time to fully modernise the ghost. It had worked, to an extent, although he still sometimes looked at San's clothing choices with distaste at least he no longer looked outright horrified as he had previously been known to do. The leather pants San sometimes favoured had seemed to particularly distress him at one point, of course that had been before he and Wooyoung had revealed their feelings to each other and gotten together...if you could call it that, and his distress had stemmed from how much he quite liked the item of clothing, but didn't want San to know it.

Wooyoung wasn't quite a modern boy but...he was no longer such an ancient one either thanks to San's careful tutelage. Although San would admit that while he loved modern clothing, it was so much easier than the layers Wooyoung was adorned in, there was something about Wooyoung in his Goryeo fashion that made his heart skip a beat. Perhaps it was the hair...or the way the belt around his waist pulled it in. Either way Wooyoung looked _good_, though as much as he loved the clothing on the other boy there was no way that San himself would be willing to parade about in such a seemingly complicated and fancy outfit no matter how much Wooyoung had tried to get him to wear a similar thing for Halloween the previous year. He'd been close to cracking, the ghost was surprisingly good at puppy eyes, but San had remained strong in his refusal, a fact Wooyoung still hadn't quite let go even though San had distracted him from his goal with the ghost's favourite clothing item in San's wardrobe. Though San often couldn't help but wonder what Wooyoung would look like in those leather pants...or jeans in general. Really, the ghost was lucky that he was stuck in the clothes he'd died in or San would have had him magically poofing in to a million different outfits under the reasoning that he 'wanted to know how it looked before he put it on'. Perhaps one day, if he pulled this off...San would find out, and he'd find out what it was like to _really _kiss Wooyoung, to be held by him and to hold him. He just needed this to work.

* * *

"I found it!" San yelled, bursting in to his thankfully Yunho free, dorm room and looking around excitedly for Wooyoung. Frowning when he couldn't spot the ghost, the room seemingly empty. _That's strange...where did he go? He's usually waiting right here for me... _

"Found what?" the voice came from right next to him, incredibly close to his ear, cold wafting across it. San jumped, letting out a quiet shriek.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?!" San clutched his heart, glaring at the ghost. Wooyoung just smiled at him mischievously, and San had to work not to immediately smile back at him.

"I have to amuse myself somehow" came the offhand response.

"Can't you watch TV like a normal person? Or go on Twitter? That always kills a few hours, and you know...won't kill me"

"I'm a ghost...why would I possibly make a Twitter account? Why would I need one? I have no interest in celebrities or-"

"Lies, you think I don't know you've taken a shine to Park Jimin? But do go on"

"I still have no use for Twitter. I have no friends to 'stalk'-"

"Follow. It's following when it's on Twitter remember?"

"I knew it was something like that" Wooyoung murmured.

"Forget Twitter okay, you can still watch TV! As long as you don't watch Hotel Del Luna without me"

"Not when your roommate is home, I think Yunho would find the TV switching on all by itself a little strange. Not to mention we don't share the same tastes in entertainment and I don't want to waste my energy playing tug of war between channels"

"Good point. Anyway, look." San proudly presented Wooyoung with a very old, very dusty and very grimy book. The kinder description for it might be…'a little worse for wear'. The poor book was practically falling apart, the leather cover cracked and hanging on by sheer willpower alone it seemed. The pages yellowed with age, the title faded so that it was practically illegible. San watched eagerly as Wooyoung squinted at the cover of the book, his head moving forward as he tried to figure out what exactly he was supposed to be looking at. Eventually though, he gave up, his head tilting up so that he could look at San.

"What…is that?" Wooyoung raised a brow at San, waiting expectantly to be enlightened.

"It's a book" San stated proudly.

"Yes..I can see that. But what _is _it? Poetry? Fairy tales? Why exactly is this such an exciting development?" San looked at Wooyoung, his face screaming 'I'm so glad you asked'.

"Well, I've been researching for months, tracking down book after book. Investigating scrolls, tablets, any scrap of paper or written word that I thought might be useful...trying to find some way to help you and...I finally found it Wooyoungie. All the other books and things I came across were either bogus, elaborate fakes, or not exactly what we were looking for. They were more for summoning..._things. _But _this..._this can help you Wooyoung. I'm sure of it. I checked again and again, researched for weeks in to this one book alone...this is the one."

"It can help me...move on? Help me...leave this place?" Wooyoung asked quietly, gaze refusing to land on San who shifted uncomfortably.

"Well...not exactly Woo, you see uh...there aren't any books that know how to do that. Believe me, I checked. That was the first thing I looked for actually, but I couldn't find a single one. If you told me what happened...we could work to figure out what it is you need to resolve. Anger, some other sort of emotion, if you need justice or something like that although it's a bit too late to really achieve that I suppose. But I'm sure we could figure out a way to make it happen-"

"No. No I don't want to remember. It's best left in the past. It happened, I...it's okay."

"Alright.." San eyed Wooyoung before continuing. "Well, as it turns out, we don't need to do any of that. We've got this instead" he once again held up the book triumphantly. _And this way is so much better for us. This way...this way we can be together. _

"What does it do?" Wooyoung eyed the book suspiciously.

"There's a ritual in here Woo, it's just the kind of thing we've been looking for-"

"You're saying 'we' a lot for someone who's been doing this while I was under the impression you were studying for your exams" San could hear the slight judgement in Wooyoung's voice.

"I can multi-task...I was practicing research skills and...and fact checking and source checking and all kinds of things while I was doing this okay." his voice was indignant and perhaps a little bit guilty. He had after all barely scraped a pass in his last round of exams because he'd been too caught up in his search. But the more he'd thought about it...the more he knew he had to do something for Wooyoung. Anything, because he was trapped here and San was reminded of that more and more each day. It wasn't that San wanted to get rid of him, of course he didn't. Life without Wooyoung would hurt too much...but it also wasn't fair to keep him here if he could help him move on to a better place.

"Sure you were" Wooyoung gave him a look that made sure San knew he didn't believe a word of his bullshit excuses. San waved his hand in the air as if to wave away Wooyoung's judgement.

"That's not important, what _is _important is that like I was saying...this book contains a ritual. The perfect ritual, actually. It even has all of the ingredients listed in here, every single thing we'll need. Most of them are fairly easy to acquire, but there was one...the blood ruby, that was a little harder to track down. I've been searching online, and I finally found it. I wanted to be sure that we could pull this off before I told you, I didn't want to get your hopes up if we couldn't make this work but...I've found it. The book, the blood ruby...I've found it all. The seller's a nutcase, as is to be expected of someone in possession of a ruby that's needed for an arcane ritual but I got it. It's amazing what you can find on the internet these days...and how fast the mail is. It'll arrive within the week" San was practically bouncing with excitement, everything was falling in to place.

"And what do we do with this ritual and this...blood ruby"

"I see you're skeptical, that's okay. I was too, which is why I researched in to the ritual. It's the real deal. So's the ruby. I promise Woo. All we have to do is set everything up as is explained in the book, recite some words and use the blood ruby on the uh...blood moon, cliche I know but go with it. They just really seem to love using things named blood or you know...actually blood in these ancient arcane ritual thingies...must be a death thing." San chuckled nervously as Wooyoung continued to stare at him with his judgy face. The face that was clearly wondering if San had lost his marbles. "Aaaanyway, the next blood moon is next week. Halloween, specifically because you know...arcane ritual."

"I would greatly appreciate it if you told me what the point of this whole endeavour is. If you just want to get rid of me-"

"No, no of course I don't want to get rid of you Woo. I would never...I'd never want to get rid of you. I love you Woo. I just want...I just want things to be better for you. You don't deserve to be trapped here like this, without being able to move on." San swallowed. "I just want to help you"

"And this will help me...how?" Wooyoung arched a brow.

"It can...the ritual, it can...it can turn you human Woo"

"What?" Wooyoung's voice was very, very quiet.

"The ritual...the stone, they'll turn you human. That's what it does...you'll be alive again Woo" Wooyoung visibly paled, quite a feat for a dead person.

"That's...that's impossible. No such thing...no such way exists. How you can turn a ghost...a remnant of a living person in to flesh and blood?"

"I know it sounds crazy but I promise it can Woo, I promise. I wouldn't have told you if I didn't think this could work...if I didn't think this was real. We don't...we don't have to do this, only if you want to. If you'd rather stay this way then..." as much as San wanted to be able to touch Wooyoung, to hold him and be held, to _feel _him...he wouldn't go against the others wishes. He wouldn't do anything that would make him unhappy. Well...unhappier than the ghost of a murdered boy from hundreds of years ago who'd watched everyone he knew and loved slowly age and die while he'd remained unchanged, could be.

"What if something goes wrong? Have you thought about that San? I'm not...I'm not ready to leave. I'm not ready to leave you. I don't want to...I want to stay with you" Wooyoung paused, looking at San hard. "Are you sure you don't want me to leave?"

"NO" San blurted, his hands reaching out for Wooyoung's face, but unable to touch him and the pain of that alone, not being able to comfort him and reassure him was nearly enough to make him hunch over. "No, of course not. I told you, I love you Wooyoung. I want...I want you to stay with me forever but it's not fair of me to want that. For me to want to keep you trapped here any longer when you've already been here for decades, it would be selfish of me and I promised that I'd help you. I don't go back on my promises. I can't help you move on the normal way for ghosts, but I can do this, and isn't this better? You could have another chance at life. We'd...we'd be able to touch each other properly Wooyoung. For as long as we like. We can cuddle in bed, and snuggle when we watch a movie and when you're sad I could comfort you and...and I could kiss you" Wooyoung reached out for San, his hand becoming more solid while a small line appeared between his brows as he concentrated all of his efforts on materialising his hand. Now looking less translucent, Wooyoung brought his hand up to cup San's face, but instead of being a warm touch...it was cold. As it always was because Wooyoung wasn't alive as much as San had wished he was for moments such as this.

"I would...I would like that very much San. You know that. I want nothing more than to be able to wipe away your tears when you're sad. To hold you and to...to kiss you. To even hold your hand, or stroke your hair while you study."

"The way I see it, the worst thing that can happen is that you stay the way you are. We go through the ritual and...nothing happens. I don't think it'll poof you...it doesn't _say _that it'll poof you if this goes wrong" San frowned. _I'm sure it didn't, I read everything I could find on it twice. I even got a latin translator to look it over because I don't trust Google with something so important. Not anywhere on the damn pages did it say 'warning, chance of poofing. Proceed with caution'. I don't want to make Wooyoung go poof...that's the last thing I want. _

"If you're sure...if you want to try it...then I will" Wooyoung said softly. San looked up from him, leaving his thoughts behind.

"You don't have to do this just because I want to Wooyoung. Just because of me. You should do this because you want to"

"I want to, of course I do. How could you think I wouldn't? To be a living, breathing human that can spend time with you. That can truly be with you. But...I just want you to be sure. If this goes wrong, I've been alive for decades...centuries. I already died once as unpleasant as it was, I'm not afraid of whatever the consequences of this ritual may be should it go awry, other than losing you of course. But I worry about what would happen to you if I was...gone" San bit his lip. Life without Wooyoung was never something that he wanted to think about.

"I don't want you to go. But you've been stuck here Woo. For far too long. You deserve peace after everything that happened to you, I don't need to know what that was to know that. I can't selfishly make you stay...make you watch me grow old and die the same way that you watched your family and friends. That's...that's too cruel of me. I want to do this for you, if it's what you want"

"You're sure about this?" Wooyoung gazed in to his eyes, searching them. San swallowed but made sure not to pull his gaze away.

"Yes. I'm sure. And if...if something goes wrong, which it won't! I'm sure it won't! I've been thorough in finding out everything that there is to know about this ritual. It's completely safe...I'm sure. Well...I'm about 99% sure which is close enough. But..._if _something goes wrong then I'll be happy that at the very least you're not stuck here any longer. That you won't be stuck here alone after I'm...after I'm gone." San smiled, even if it was a somewhat weak smile, before attempting to lighten the mood a little. "And of course, I'll be ecstatic that you can finally change out of those clothes" Wooyoung allowed himself a small, sad smile.

"I thought you liked my clothing?"

"Oh I do, but aren't you a little bit bored of it by now?" Wooyoung laughed a little, neither confirming nor denying it. "It'll be fine Woo. Human or...same old same old. We'll be fine" the comforting weight of Wooyoung's hand on his cheek, his thumb stroking his cheekbone gently, faded away as Wooyoung failed to maintain the required energy for any longer than he already had and San felt the same swell of sadness that he did every time this happened to them. _We can't carry on like this for the rest of my life. I can't make him watch as I age...as I die. He's already seen enough of the people he loves leaving him behind. Moving on without him. He'd be left here all alone again, with no-one to talk to. No-one that can even see him let alone love him. I won't force him to stay here just because of me, just because I don't want to be without him. Just because he's worried about leaving me here all alone. I know he loves me, I know he doesn't actually want to leave me...but he's owed a next life. He's owed something better than he's been given. If there's a way to help him leave...I have to take it. It wouldn't be fair of me otherwise, at some point I have to be an adult about things. But at least this way...there's a chance that we can get our happy ending. And like I said...if not, then at least he'll be in a better place and I'll just have to deal with that somehow. _

"Fine. I suppose the worst that can happen is some overly high expectations being ruined and a crushing sense of disappointment"

"You didn't have to word it quite like that Woo"

"Did I lie?" Wooyoung smirked.

"No...and stop spending so much time on Twitter" San pouted, making Wooyoung grin. His big, beautiful smile causing his entire face to radiate with joy. The ghost leaned in close to San's mouth, and he could feel Wooyoung's lips ghost across his own...literally. A quick, slight pressure that radiated cold. Blink and you'd miss it.

"I suppose we should start preparing for this ritual then" he announced, leaning back.

"The stone is on its way to us as we speak, I was hoping you'd say yes and even if you didn't I wanted to have it in case you changed your mind. Plus it would make an interesting decoration...we could tell people all kinds of bullshit stories about it." San's laugh was just shy of evil. "All that's left to do is gather up the other ingredients, but it shouldn't be that hard"

"Is there not some sort of appropriate attire to wear?"

"...no? Why? Was that a thing when you were alive? Did you have arcane ritual outfits?"

"Uh...no. It just seems like the kind of event that requires some sort of special clothing" Wooyoung sounded quite sad about the fact. But San supposed that when you lived vicariously through other people's wardrobes it was a bit of a let down when there was no dress code for a special occasion.

"Well, we can make up an outfit. There's no reason why we can't" San smiled. "But I'm not wearing robes, I don't want to look like I escaped from a satanic cult"

"A what?"

"...you don't want to know"

With that, the plan was locked in place, and the date set with the countdown already in motion. San found it relatively, and somewhat worryingly, easy to visit various back alley shops in not very nice parts of town that sold all that they required for the spell. There were the cheerful, harmless sounding ingredients like henbane, mugwort and various other herbs...and then the darker ingredients that San had anticipated perhaps having a little trouble getting hold of hence the worry at the ease with which he acquired them. A human heart, he had no desire to know exactly how the shop he'd acquired it from had a supply of _those _or why they looked so fresh, _perhaps they have a deal with a morgue? I _hope_ they have a deal with a morgue because I really don't want to be giving money to grave robbers or murderers, _ground bones which again...didn't want to know and grave dirt. It was lucky that any grave would do because San was sure Wooyoung didn't actually _have_ a grave, and if he did...it should be somewhere in North Korea as that was where Goryeo had been located back when it had existed and it wasn't a place he could venture to. Let alone smuggle some suspect dirt out of.

The days ticked past maddeningly slow, and San checked, double checked and tripled checked that they had every single little thing that they needed for the ritual. The ruby arriving right on time and being locked away in San's desk drawer to keep it safe until the big night. He even cobbled together a 'suitable' outfit to wear while performing the ritual, much to Wooyoung's delight and approval. Leather pants and a sleeveless black shirt, to be specific. San figured black was an appropriate colour considering what they were about to attempt, and he knew Wooyoung wouldn't say no to the leather pants.

Soon enough...October 31st arrived.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not going to pretend everything’s 100% historically accurate, I did shove Yeosang in there after all, but I did try my best!

The moon was full in the sky as San and Wooyoung made their way towards the deserted woods at the edge of town. Making their way carefully through the trees by the light of it towards the secluded clearing that San had prepared earlier in the day. It wasn't a place people often visited, so he was confident no-one would come across his little set up at some point during the day...or stumble across them during the middle of the ritual. Using a knife, he'd meticulously carved out the pentagram in the dirt, along with all of the required symbols. Taking his time to make sure it was exactly right, with not a line or a squiggle out of place. It looked quite pretty, in San's opinion, not at all creepy, ominous or at all evil looking. The symbols flowing and swirling lines packed in to and around the pentagram. He'd expected something more menacing, something that you looked at and shied away from because it _looked _like something you shouldn't mess with...shouldn't have brought in to existence but instead he'd felt like he'd been drawing something from Fullmetal Alchemist albeit a bit more complicated.

San carried the supplies with him in a backpack, along with the ruby which he clutched in his pocket. Wooyoung following as close to him as he could, the cold wafting across the arm that was closest to the ghost. _Soon...he won't be cold anymore. He'll be warm, and I can hold his hand and...and I can hold him. Instead of him making me even colder on a winter day and having to keep a distance...he can warm me up. We can hold hands in our pockets, I can hug him with my arms inside his jacket, we can snuggle under blankets and fall asleep in each others arms. _San thought, envisioning all the things they could do as winter approached in the coming months. _I can take him ice skating, teach him how to do it and pull him along by the hands. We can go for hot chocolate afterwards and shop for presents together. I can actually buy him presents this year...there wasn't much point before, he could never wear anything I'd buy for him or touch anything but now I can buy him all the presents I want. Enough to make up for the years he lacked them. To show him how much I love him. If I want to reach over and kiss him I can. If I want to hold his hand I can. I can introduce him to Yunho and they'll be instant friends because it's impossible to not love Wooyoung and I know Yunho will like him. Of course he will. _

San thought excitedly, as he clutched the strap of his backpack, his hand clenching around the ruby in his pocket. They picked their way over logs and fallen branches, the moon guiding them. Bright enough that San didn't even need to take out his phone to use the flashlight. In no time at all, they were approaching the clearing. San could feel butterflies in his stomach, his nerves finally starting to make an appearance.

"Be careful that you don't mess up the lines Woo" San instructed, gesturing to his careful carving on the forest floor.

"I'm a ghost San. I couldn't even if I tried" Wooyoung reminded him.

"Well if you put enough energy in you could" he pointed out with a pout.

"Don't worry, I'll stay well back from your precious artwork. I'd hate to accidentally use all of my concentration to materialise so much as a toe and smudge it" Wooyoung's voice was laced with sarcasm but his smile was genuine. San turned his back on the ghost and set to work placing a candle from his backpack at each point of the pentagram, one each for earth, wind, fire, air, water and spirit, using a small lighter to set them aflame. Next he took out the bunches of herbs, touching each bunch to the nearest candle flame in turn, blowing on them to make them smoke and then wafting them all around the circle before placing them as instructed at specific points further in to the pentagram. Finally, he placed the ruby right in the centre of it all.

"Okay...now you" he turned to Wooyoung at last, who reluctantly made his way towards San. Making a show of stepping carefully to tease him, until he was standing opposite San in the circle. The ruby resting between them and glinting in the light of the candles and moon. "Ready?" San asked, smiling encouragingly at the ghost.

"As I'll ever be, I suppose" San grinned at him. "Just in case-"

"No. No, we're not doing goodbyes. Because this is going to work, and if it doesn't we'll go home and do our annual watch of Hocus Pocus while I binge eat candy corn and sulk" San's voice was firm, no room for argument. Wooyoung looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "Of course, if it does work...what do you want to do first? Ooohh, you'll probably want food right? You haven't eaten in centuries, we'll get takeout on the way home! Every kind of takeout that there is so that we can find out what you like to eat, and _then _we can watch Hocus Pocus and stuff our faces and you can finally try candy corn! Oooh and caramelised apples!" San plotted.

"I Want to kiss you" San's gaze shot up to Wooyoung's and he flushed.

"W-what?"

"I said I want to kiss you. Properly. The first thing that I want to do is kiss you. Is that a surprise?"

"N-no. I...I guess not" San licked his lips nervously.

"Then I want to spend the night holding you, I don't care what we watch or what we eat, or other ridiculous things. As long as I can spend the night holding you...touching you, then we can do whatever you want." San swallowed hard at the words but before he could summon up an appropriate response because _of course _he wanted to do all of those things too, but he had to admit...he was a little bit nervous at the thought of suddenly being able to do what he'd always dreamed of doing with Wooyoung, the flames of every single candle surrounding them shot up in to the air simultaneously. San snapped his head away from Wooyoung and up to the sky, watching as the moon slowly but surely turned a deep, dark red. It looked like blood seeping across a white bandage. _It's time...it's really time. We're really doing this. Work. Please work, I'm begging you. _

San turned quickly to Wooyoung, hastily tugging the book out of his backpack before tossing the bag outside of the pentagram, taking a breath before starting to speak the words of the ritual straight from the dusty, yellowed pages. It occurred to San as he was reading that the ink appeared to be dried blood but he chose not to dwell on that because there were more important things for him to worry about. _Like Wooyoung vanishing before I can say goodbye to him...before I can tell him how much I love him-no. Stop that Choi San. This will work. It has to. _

"Pitiful spirit doomed to wander-"

"That's a bit rude, I'm in no way pitiful" Wooyoung muttered under his breath. San ignored him, continuing to recite, making an effort to say the words carefully, to make sure they were coming out correctly.

"Untouched by time, trapped in place with no path to go yonder. By my will and by my blood, I declare a second chance to be wrought." San sliced the dagger he'd brought across his palm. He'd taken the trouble to find a _real _dagger, fitting for the occasion, rather than simply using any old knife. It was old, encrusted with rubies, and San had immediately decided it was 'the one', because as he'd told Wooyoung...it fit the aesthetic they seemed to be going for with this whole endeavour. San clenched his hand in to a fist, dripping his blood on to the ruby, before walking around the pentagram to drip it on to the earth at each of the six points. Taking his place at the centre once again he continued.

"A heart for a heart, for the life to take hold." San next produced the human heart, which had been residing in their freezer. Pushed far enough back and with a cheerful sticky note on it to tell Yunho that if he touched it San would break his fingers, that it had remained untouched until it was needed. Yunho no doubt assuming it was one of San's favourite ice creams or some other frozen snack that he didn't want to share. San placed it carefully on the ground next to the ruby.

"The state in which you truly reside, reduced to at one moment in time" San pulled the little bag of bone dust out next, sprinkling it over the heart and the ruby, before continuing to dust the pentagram with it.

"The earth from whence you rest, to which all are sure to progress" San produced another little bag, this one containing the grave dirt and repeated his previous actions with it. Obviously they couldn't acquire 'the state in which' Wooyoung 'truly resides' let alone 'the earth from whence' he rested, considering San had no idea where that was, and had no way to get there. This was the one part of the ritual that caused him worry, he hoped human bones and grave dirt in general was enough, the words of the ritual more metaphorical than literal because if he needed Wooyoung's bones..the dirt from Wooyoung's grave if he even had one...if it even still existed, then there was no way this would work. But he wasn't about to focus on that right now, right in the middle of the whole thing.

"Together combined, with the blood painted in the sky. Take haste, take hold, to awaken the soul" everything in the clearing went still, there was no sound, no wind, until Wooyoung stiffened suddenly with a shark intake of breath. When San looked over at him, he was staring sightlessly and mumbling under his breath, the distress evident all over his face.

"No...no. I don't want to see...please, I don't want to see...not again...no...no..."

"Wooyoung" San murmured from his place opposite him, but he got no response. He didn't even appear to have heard him. Cursing quietly, San reached out. Grabbing ahold of Wooyoung's wrist, so focused on Wooyoung's distress that it took him a moment to notice that he actually _could_. That Wooyoung had become more solid than he'd ever been before, though he was still cold to the touch. "_Wooyoung_!" he said, louder. But as the words left San's mouth, the silence of the clearing was broken by the sound of clashing swords. San tore his gaze away from Wooyoung, glancing in the direction of the sound.

"What the _fuck_?" San blinked. He was in what appeared to be a palace, and it wasn't one that existed as far as he was aware...at least not anymore. He'd never seen anything like it and he gazed around in wonder. He was standing in a square paved with white stone, with a wall to either side of him as well as behind that was made of that same clean, white stone. A building rose up in front of him and beyond the wall to his left he could see the tops of yet more. Said buildings were made up of much the same dancheong colour scheme that the palaces throughout Korea usually sported, like Gyeongbokgung for example. Blue, white, red, black and yellow adorning the wooden building in front of him and from what he could see over the wall, the rest of the buildings too. Yet just a moment ago he'd ben standing in the silent, lonely forest with Wooyoung.

_What the hell happened? One moment we were in the woods in the middle of an arcane ritual, with blood and human hearts and all manner of things that'd get me locked up in a place with bars and a strict schedule...the next I'm here. But where is here, exactly? _

San looked around himself again, carefully this time, slowly turning in place and taking in every single detail that he could see in the light provided by the moon and flickering torches. He assumed from what he could make out of the buildings and the way that everything was laid out with the walls, alongside the colour scheme, that he was in a Korean palace of some kind...but which one? Clearly it wasn't any of the ones he'd visited, he wasn't sure it even existed anymore because he was sure he'd remember if such a place existed, if he'd read about it online or seen it on a TV show. Multi story buildings could be seen over the wall, and as he paid closer attention to the buildings...or rather their rooftops, he noticed that the roof tiles appeared to be a shade of blue, and as he turned back to the building in front of him he noticed that it was decorated with a rather large amount of gold embellishments. _Strange...most of the still existing palaces were Joseon era and they didn't do fancy, not to this extent. _

As San stared he became more and more sure that this place really _didn't _exist any longer, little pieces clicking in to place. An article he'd read recently when researching the era Wooyoung had lived in, in one of his many attempts to get a taste of what life had been like for the man, sprang up in his mind suddenly. _It was said to have blue celadon roof tiles...and it was described as having multi-story buildings...being a lot more extravagant than the Joseon era palaces that survive to this day. The same colour scheme sure, but heavier on the gold embellishment and all things lavish. This...I can't believe this, this has to be Manwoldae. The main palace of the Goryeo dynasty, that's the only place this could be...the only place that makes sense. Which means that this...this is the place that Wooyoung died. _

San's mind flashed back to moments before, Wooyoung's sudden distress, the words he'd mumbled...the _fear, _as he'd moaned the word 'no' over and over. _I wanted to snap him out of it, I wanted to help him somehow. He seemed so upset so..so scared and I wanted to make it stop so I reached out and I grabbed hold of his wrist. And I _could. _I could actually touch him, he became solid enough that I could do it. I had my hand wrapped around his wrist and then...I was here. I touched him and somehow I got pulled in to the past. Well...not the real past. We haven't gone back in time, I'm sure we haven't. The ritual didn't say anything about time travel, if it had I'd have prepared for it because I really don't want to accidentally tread on a flower or a bug and change the course of history forever. No, this isn't real. The ritual just created some sort of vision for Wooyoung, taking him back to what happened to him...to how he died, and when I touched him I got pulled in too somehow. But where is he? _

San's attention was once again drawn to the sound of clashing swords as it got closer and closer. As he turned towards the sound, seeking out the source of it, he spotted a man in a very familiar outfit come rushing around the side of the building directly in front of him. As he watched, Wooyoung skidded to a halt, spinning to face the men chasing after him. They appeared to be soldiers of some sort, judging by their attire and San's intimate knowledge of historical dramas set in the Goryeo period brought about by his insistence on watching them to make Wooyoung feel 'at home' and broaden his knowledge of the time period, and they were doing their very best to strike Wooyoung with their swords, not at all holding back. San couldn't tear his eyes away, his heart in his mouth as Wooyoung fought back, a whirl of silk and steel as he dodged this way and that, missing slash after slash. Blades clashing as he turned them aside, ducking to avoid one sword, then throwing himself in to a sideways roll to avoid another sword coming down towards him, popping up to his feet in one smooth move and immediately running the man through, whirling to the other and shoving his sword savagely through his throat.

Wooyoung stood there panting, his hand coming up to touch his left arm and San could see in the moonlight that the fabric was torn...no it was slashed, he realised, noticing the blood seeping in to the silk, making it look darker than it already was. He spotted some blood splashed across the beautifully familiar features that he loved so much, and as he looked at the blood dripping from Wooyoung's sword he was even more sure that this was the night that Wooyoung had died. It had to be because what other night _could_ it be? Why else would the ritual bring Wooyoung back to this moment if not to make him relive how he'd died? After all, he was trying to gain his life back. It made sense. Besides, Wooyoung was wearing the exact same clothing that he'd worn for as long as San had known him...for the hundreds of years he'd stayed stuck on this Earth. While San had always been curious about Wooyoung's life, what it had been like, what he'd eaten, what he'd worn, what he'd read, seen, experienced, what he'd done for entertainment when he was bored, and of course...he'd always been curious about how exactly Wooyoung had died. Speculating and making up his own theories based on what he knew...or thought he knew. San was overcome in that moment with just how strong the certainty was that despite all of his curiosity...he _really _didn't want to watch Wooyoung die. But Wooyoung had had just killed all of the men seemingly trying to kill him, and San was sure that there had been more than those two if the sound of clashing swords, and now that he thought about it...pained moans and yells, as he'd arrived was anything to go by. Or the slash to Wooyoung's arm and the blood splattered across him that clearly wasn't his own and that certainly wasn't from the two men he'd just slain right in front of him.

_So...some soldiers or something tried to kill him? But why? He was just the son of a noble...unless his father did something? Did he commit treason and so the whole family had to be wiped out? Or did he fight back when they tried to exile him? Was Wooyoung attacked as a warning to his father? Or to get some kind of vengeance against him by killing his heir? Wooyoung himself couldn't have done anything that warranted this, he liked archery and he could defend himself with a sword if he had to...but he didn't particularly like fighting. He liked to read, he told me he didn't get involved with the power struggles in the palace, and amongst the nobility...though his father was involved in palace affairs. That's why Wooyoung was here so much...that and his best friend was the King. Maybe someone didn't like their friendship? Maybe his friendship with the King gave Wooyoung's family too much power and some shady government faction wanted to put an end to that? Get rid of the King's allies? Dammit, I don't know and I don't know what year this is...so I don't even know which King was Wooyoung's friend. Or any of the politics of the time. Dammit, just who would want to kill Wooyoung? And why? _

Footsteps sounded in the darkness, tearing San out of his thoughts and causing Wooyoung to whip his head to the side. To the wall located to San's left...or specifically the arched doorway set in to it that San could now make out in the gloom as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Presumably it led to the main part of the palace, although San wasn't too sure where he was right now anyway. Some sort of out of the way wing of the palace? It did seem to be quite quiet here...there were no guards on duty and it seemed somewhat abandoned. Which was strange, because you would think that guards would be crawling over every single inch of the palace.

Wooyoung's grip, when San checked back on him, tightened on his sword, the knuckles turning white and San wanted to rush over and hug him. Or hide him, or just protect him somehow from whatever was about to happen, because he knew it couldn't be anything good. He knewhow things had ended for Wooyoung and he _knew _what had to happen. _I can't watch this...I really can't watch this...I don't want to see it happen. I don't want to see the pain, and the fear in his last moments. I can't...I can't... _

"Yeosang?" surprise coloured Wooyoung's voice and San jolted in recognition of the name. _Yeosang...that was the name of his best friend. Well his name before he became King. I remember Wooyoung said they changed it to something 'more befitting a King' and of course all Goryeo Kings were given temple names after they died, so it's been impossible for me to figure out which exact King Yeosang was. Wooyoung wouldn't tell me the name that he's no doubt referred to in the history books, but I know that he knows. He would have been trapped here watching over him until Yeosang died himself. He's probably well aware of what his temple name is too. It's almost a shame that once Yeosang died he clearly passed on, it would have been nice for Wooyoung to have some company. He'd have been less lonely then. Perhaps being a ghost might have even been fun for him then. _

San eyed the boy coming in to focus, the gloom surrounding him clearing away as he emerged in to the moonlight and out of the shadows. He had long black hair, parted to one side and, much like Wooyoung, the top half of his hair was pulled up though Yeosang's was in a bun, rather than a ponytail. Delicate gold circled it, and an equally as delicate gold hair pin was skewered through it. He was clad in beautifully patterned black silk, the golden dragon embroidery that symbolised his status decorating the front of it, and his waist covered with a gold belt.

"Wooyoung" the name was said softly, the boy's voice surprisingly deep.

"Sangie, I don't know what happened. These men...these guards, they attacked me. They tried to kill me, I swear it. I think one of your uncles might be behind it. No, I don't think. I know. Who else would put them up to such a thing? You know they hate me, they've wanted to get me away from your side for far too long. This wouldn't be the first time they've tried to do something like this to make that happen. I suppose that now you're the King they decided to take one last chance, and they thought they'd use swords rather than words this time."

_Interesting. Yeosang's uncles didn't like how close their nephew, the King no less, was with Wooyoung. Wooyoung was the son of a noble, he'd been friends with Yeosang since childhood, they practically grew up together. They played together, trained together, learned together, they were each others constant companion. Was Wooyoung killed because he was a threat to the uncles? Was he in the way of the power they wanted? Was he a threat to it? If they got rid of Yeosang, no doubt one of them was next in line for the throne. For Yeosang to be King I assume that his father is no longer around, so if Yeosang was gone...they'd be able to fight it out amongst themselves for the throne. One of them, whichever survived the power struggle, could have taken the role of King for himself. But Wooyoung would definitely have been in the way of that. From what I could gather, Wooyoung was constantly by Yeosang's side. He'd have protected his best friend with all he had, and I bet he got in the way of one too many of their schemes so they decided they needed to get rid of him. _

San glanced around, noting the deep shadows and the high places concealed by yet more darkness that someone with not very nice intentions could lurk in in an attempt to do very bad things. The places that someone could shoot an arrow from, or rush out of with a sword or knife while Wooyoung was distracted, the moment of distraction costing him his life. San could feel himself become more tense by the minute, the possibilities of all that could be about to unfold running through his mind setting him completely on edge as he waited for Wooyoung to die. Because that had to be what he was about to see, any moment from now. _We were doing a ritual to turn him human, to give him his life back, his death is the only part of his past that it makes sense for the ritual to show in this much detail. Wooyoung really is about to die...right in front of me and there isn't a thing I can do about it, I can't prevent it because it's already happened. But...where's his killer? _

"Wooyoungie" Yeosang's soft voice sounded once again, the boy now standing directly in front of Wooyoung. San watched as the King reached up, placing his hand against Wooyoung's cheek, his thumb stroking Wooyoung's cheekbone while he leaned in to the touch. San felt a stab of surprise...and a little, tiny, almost non-existent stab of jealousy. _That's...interesting. He didn't mention that they were...that close. Cupping each other's cheeks in a decidedly non bro kind of way, friends. But...they did grow up together, I suppose they would be closer than most. They must practically have been like brothers, I'm sure this was just how they were with each other. I shouldn't read too much in to things. _

"Do you think...do you think they found out about us Sangie?" Wooyoung asked softly. _Found out...about...us? As in...he and Yeosang? He and the...King? His best friend. He..he and his best friend...he and Yeosang were...they were...really together? _San blinked. Wooyoung had never mentioned it before. Ever. He'd simply told San of his best friend Yeosang, whom he'd done practically everything with and was the person he'd been closest to in his life. Not his best friend who happened to be his lover, in a no doubt cliche 'friends to lovers fanfiction au' kind of way. San tried very, very hard not to feel jealous as he tried to bat away the snide thoughts. After all, this relationship had ended hundreds of years ago, and Wooyoung was _his _now. Of course...Yeosang had been able to touch Wooyoung as much as he wanted, anywhere he wanted. Hug him, kiss him...do..other things with him possibly. As San watched, Yeosang brought his face to Wooyoung's, placing a soft kiss on his lips and San found it quite hard to resist the urge to stomp over and pull Wooyoung away from him. _This isn't real, it's just a vision. This is all in the past. No need to get jealous San, that would be ridiculous. You can't punch an apparition...vision created person...thing in the face anyway, so it wouldn't even be satisfying. _

Yeosang pulled back but kept his hand on Wooyoung's cheek while Wooyoung's lips fell in to a soft pout. San eyed the thumb continuing once again to rub against the skin of Wooyoung's cheek and forcefully shoved a vision of breaking said finger out of his mind, as it never once ceased the constant stroking motion. Wooyoung had relaxed at the other mans touch, his sword hanging limply in his right hand, while his left had found its way to Yeosang's waist. _Yes Wooyoung, do get distracted by your boyfriend why don't you. It's not like someone just tried to kill you. Oh my God, did he die because he was too busy getting all lovey dovey with Yeosang? No, wait. What if he died protecting Yeosang? His lover, the person he would do anything to keep safe. That would explain why he didn't want to talk about it...why he didn't want to see it again. Oh God. Oh God, he died to save Yeosang's life, didn't he? _

"I'm sorry Wooyoungie" Yeosang breathed, touching his forehead to Wooyoung's.

"It's not your fault Sangie, I've told you that before. You don't control what your uncles do, you're not responsible for their behaviour. Besides, this was nothing I couldn't handle" Yeosang smiled sadly at Wooyoung, Wooyoung beaming back at him.

"I know. It was a foolish endeavour, my Wooyoungie would never fall so easily. I don't know why I wasted time with it" Wooyoung frowned at the words.

"Why you...wha-" Wooyoung's sentence was abruptly cut off as he made a strange choking sound, and it took San a moment to realise what exactly had happened...and what he was looking at. Yeosang's hand, the one San hadn't been paying attention to because it hadn't been touching Wooyoung in a manner he didn't appreciate _at all, _now had the hilt of a dagger in it. Said dagger was currently embedded deep in Wooyoung's chest.

"WOOYOUNG-AH" San couldn't stop the scream ripping out of his chest, although nobody heard it save for himself. Yeosang looked down at the dagger he was holding.

"Oh. I missed your heart. I'm so sorry Wooyoungie" Yeosang viciously twisted the dagger and Wooyoung screamed in pain. San couldn't help it, he couldn't hold himself back and he ran towards Wooyoung. Standing as close to him as he could, his hands fluttering around him, unsure what to do. Unsure if he could even touch him..and knowing that whatever he did, it was useless.

"Why?" Wooyoung asked in a pained, barely there voice. Tears streaming down his beautiful face. "I love you, Yeosangie. You...love me"

"I do Wooyoungie. I do love you. So much. But you have to die. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I thought the guards would be the easiest way, I didn't want to have to do this. But I should have known you'd be able to fend them off...that they'd be nothing to you. It was foolish of me, I knew better. I _knew, _I should have done this from the start, but...I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to be the one to cause you pain...to...to kill you." the tears hadn't stopped falling down Wooyoung's cheeks in a steady, never-ending stream and San hovered behind him. He wanted to touch him, to comfort him and to shove Yeosang away. No. No, he wanted to kill Yeosang. But the King was already dead, and he had been for a very long time. History no doubt having no clue he was a murderer. That he'd murdered his best friend, the man he claimed to love. Yeosang wrenched the dagger out roughly, causing another pained yell to rip out of Wooyoung and San could feel the tears decorating his own cheeks.

"I don't...understand. If it was because of our...our relationship...if your uncles were threatening me...or threatening _you_...you could have sent me away. I would have gone. I'd have gone for you...I would...do anything for you. You know that. All you had to do...was ask it of me"

"I know. I know Wooyoungie. But it wasn't that, not this time. The only way you can help me now is by dying. You can't exist. As long as you exist...you'll always be a threat to me and I can't allow that"

"What...are you talking about?"

"Lord Jung isn't your father, although I suppose you don't know that. This will all be news to you, I hope you'll understand why I couldn't tell you. He took you in when my father took the throne you see. Your real father wasn't fit to be King apparently, he was a bit too vicious, a bit too...mad. I can't see how the two of you are related myself but I've seen the paintings of him, because I had to be sure. He is most definitely your father, there's no doubt about it. You resemble him quite a bit. Not that anyone will know that aside from you and me, I had any last trace of him and anything related to him destroyed, as should have been done in the first place but clearly my father did a poor job of it."

"My father...was the previous King? That's impossible."

"No, it's not. I didn't want to believe it at first either. I really didn't because then I could no longer keep you by my side. But the proof...the evidence...it's true. You know my father took the throne in an uprising, before that he was just a Lord, another noble among many, albeit one close to the King of course. Close to your father, that is. But when your father's judgement started to become...impaired, when he started to lose himself to fits of temper and become unreasonable...paranoid...something had to be done. For the good of the people...for the good of Goryeo. So my father rose up against him, aided by a myriad of other nobles and my uncles of course. Your adopted father smuggled you out of the place the day you were born...the day your father died, by the time my father realised who you really were...it was too late. Everyone knew you as Lord Jung's son, you were hard to get rid of...but you knew nothing of your heritage and Lord Jung didn't seem inclined to tell you. Of course I'm sure he's plotting to have you take your rightful place at some point, to back the throne. You are the rightful heir after all, you should be the King right now. Not me"

"I...I don't want to be King. That's never something...I've wanted. I wouldn't...I would never take your position from you...you know that...Yeosangie"

"You say that now Wooyoung, but what if that changed? What if you found out the truth at some point? What if you started to resent me for living the life that rightfully belongs to you? What if Lord Jung eventually revealed all to you, if he tainted you against me and my family in the process in a bid to overthrow me? Would you be able to keep saying no to the throne? To all of this power? Eventually you'd have found out, I know you would have in some way. Eventually you'd have come to covet what should have been yours all this time. I'm not as good as you at archery, or swordsmanship...I'm not particularly good at anything. Being King is all that I have, I can't have it taken from me. I can't. Even if you never found out the truth...I can't allow myself to have any weaknesses, anything that would allow someone to try and take it from me. Whether as the man I love...my best friend and lover, or as the true heir to the throne...you are my biggest weakness of all Wooyoung, surely you know that? It's better this way. This way you can die before anyone can turn against each other. You can die still loving me with your whole heart, with no resentment darkening it. I'm sorry Wooyoungie, I love you. I love you so much, but you have to die so that I can truly live."

Yeosang's arm moved quickly, stabbing down in to Wooyoung's chest once more and this time it must have hit its mark because San could _see _the life leave Wooyoung in that precise moment. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch as Wooyoung's body slumped to the ground, but hearing the impact of it doing so anyway. Unable to watch as Yeosang had the body disposed of because that's what the next logical step would be for someone who'd just murdered another person and didn't want a soul to know about it. Of course there was no grave for Wooyoung, a grave would mean his death had been acknowledged and San suspected that Wooyoung had just happened to disappear one day. Perhaps he couldn't take the pressures of being the King's lover any longer? Perhaps he was unable to face seeing his lover marry whichever noble lady had been selected for Yeosang? Or some such similar tale that was no doubt spun to everyone. San had no doubt Wooyoung's father, adopted father rather, had either been exiled...or had found a similar fate to Wooyoung himself. San knew without hearing Yeosang's next words, said to some unknown person who'd no doubt been lurking in the dark, ready to assist their King. It had been strange, now that San thought about it, that the King had seemingly been walking around without guards.

"Take his body and bury it somewhere that no-one will find it. The woods, perhaps." the words echoed to him as if from a great distance, and when he finally built up the courage to open his eyes...he was back in the forest. Surrounded by candles, and standing in place in the pentagram. Wooyoung was right where he'd last seen him, but this time his beautiful robes were stained red. Blood seeping across his chest, a familiar dagger lodged where his heart should be. San felt the blood drain from his face, the smile that had started to creep across his face at the sight of Wooyoung, dropping instantly.

"Sannie?" Wooyoung's voice was small, wavering. San had never heard him sound like that and he didn't like it one bit.

"Wooyoung!" San grabbed him by the forearms, unsure what to do or how to help him. Ordinarily he'd have been marvelling at the fact that he _could _touch him, bu the was too focused on the blood staining the beautiful silk of his clothing. "Wooyoungie...what do I do? Should I...should I take it out?" San's hand hovered over the dagger, and Wooyoung caught it with one of his.

"I can...finally touch you." Wooyoung smiled. "Sannie...I love you"

"What...why...why are you saying that? It's going to be fine, the ritual isn't finished yet..." San trailed off as he looked up at the sky, unable to look at Wooyoung knowing that he'd said all of the words. That there was no more to the incantation...but surely something else had to happen? That couldn't be it. _This _couldn't be it. Shouldn't there be a beam of light, or a magical poof, or _something._ San's skyward gaze snagged on the full moon, which was now entirely red. A deep red that matched the blood staining Wooyoung's chest exactly. San's gaze shot back to Wooyoung's and he looked...paler than usual. He was becoming more and more faded by the second, until San could see through him.

"No no no no no, this wasn't supposed to happen. You were supposed to become human and we were supposed to eat too much junk food and watch Halloween movies and snuggle and...and kiss...and go in to a sugar coma from too much candy. Or...or you were supposed to watch me do all that, and we'd have touched for a moment or two, or maybe tried to kiss again like we always do, because you'd stayed the same which would have been fine. I wouldn't have minded that, that would have been okay. But this? This wasn't supposed to happen, the ritual didn't say anything about this. Why is this happening? Why? Wooyoung, no!" San sobbed.

"It's okay Sannie, please, please don't cry. I'm sorry to leave you. I don't want to, you know I don't want to leave you behind but...it's better this way I suppose. I won't be trapped here any longer and you won't feel guilty that you can't help me. You won't feel like you're making me stay and you'll stop calling yourself selfish when that's the last thing that you are. I won't have to watch you age and then watch you die...and you won't be stuck loving a ghost. Someone that can't hold you when you're sad, who can't comfort you properly, who can't hold your hand all the time, or cuddle when we watch those awful, melodramatic, horrifically inaccurate historical dramas that you make me watch to make me feel 'at home' or help me 'reminisce' and stop me from feeling 'homesick' or whatever ridiculous reason you had when we both know you just wanted me to get annoyed at how wrong it all was and drop some little piece of information to correct it. You won't be stuck loving someone who can't even do the basic things with you that couples do...who can't even kiss you no matter how much I want to. It hurts me to see you sad, while I'm unable to help you. Unable to offer you any comfort. When I see you cry, even if it's only at some sad moment in a drama, I want to wipe away your tears and touch you so badly that it physically hurts me but I _can't. _I can't give you what you want...what you deserve. You'd spend your entire life attached to me, chained to me by your feelings but this way...you can be free too. Free to love someone who can do everything that I can't do. That can love you the way that you deserve to be loved. You might not see it right now San, but this? This is for the best. As much as I'd hoped...that this would work." San could feel the hot, steady flow of tears dripping down his face, as he let out loud, hiccuping sobs.

"No. You can't. You can't leave me. I love you Wooyoung, please...please don't go. Don't leave me here. I don't want you to...I want you to stay..you have to stay, please! I won't..I won't make you watch the dramas anymore, I promise!"

"I'm sorry." Wooyoung said softly, reaching up to touch San's face, San's eyes closing involuntarily at the contact. Wooyoung's hand felt warm against his skin for the first time and San revelled in the feel of it, leaning in to it as much as he could while Wooyoung's other hand came up to gently hold his other cheek. San's face now cupped between Wooyoung's hands, while his thumbs swiped away the tears as best as he could. "You have to go on living, promise me San"

"No. I don't want to. Not without you..I want to be with you" San cried.

"We'll meet again, San...in another life. You just have to be patient." Wooyoung smiled again, but it only made San cry harder. Wooyoung continued to stroke his cheeks, the feel of his thumbs brushing across his skin a steady, calming presence. San glanced down and let out another sob as he realised Wooyoung as slowly starting to vanish...to fade in to nothing. Everything below his knee having just...gone. San tried to shake his head in Wooyoung's careful hold.

"No, no, no, I didn't want this. I _don't _want this."

"I don't want this either San, not really. I didn't want to leave you. I wanted to selfishly stay by your side, I wanted you to always be mine even though it would mean that you didn't get to experience life...or love as you should. Even though it would mean that I was holding you back. Perhaps that's why the ritual didn't work? Perhaps I was just too selfish."

"No. You're the least selfish person that I know and if you're selfish...then so am I. This is my fault. I should have been satisfied with how things were because at least we had each other. But now...now you're leaving, you're being forced to move on against your will and it's all my fault. I didn't need you to be human to love you, but I tried to make you human anyway, I-" Wooyoung cut him off with a kiss, his soft lips pressing against San's own. San's eyes fell shut once again and he frantically returned the kiss, pressing back against Wooyoung's lips but Wooyoung pulled away much too San. Much sooner than San would have liked now that they finally got to do this. As San opened his eyes again...it was in time to see Wooyoung give hi one last brilliant smile before he vanished in to nothing.

San spun around frantically, searching the shadows. But Wooyoung was gone, and as he realised that he would never see Wooyoung again, never see his smile, or his adorable out, never see the little frown that appeared when he was concentrating on something, never talk to him or hear his loud, boisterous laugh...San collapsed to the ground and sobbed.


	3. Chapter Three

_One week later…. _

San wasn't sure how he'd gotten home that night, all he knew was he'd arrived at his door in time for Yunho...or rather vampire Yunho, according to his costume, to pull it open from the other side. No doubt he'd been about to go out to some Halloween party with Mingi…but the sight of San listlessly standing there had stopped him in his tracks. Wherever he'd been about to go, whoever he'd been about to meet had instantly been forgotten at the sight of San's distress and once he'd shaken off the shock he'd immediately pulled San through their front door.

Yunho had asked him what was wrong, what had happened, all the usual questions when your roommate and best friend showed up outside your apartment looking completely dead behind the eyes, face stained with tears, stinking of herbs and covered in dirt and bone dust from sobbing in to the ground for an unknown amount of time. But even if San had wanted to tell him, to answer his questions and relieve his worry by at least assuring him that he wasn't hurt...San couldn't seem to make his voice work. Yunho had gotten San out of his dirty clothes, showered him and then dressed him in the comfiest ones he could find, bundling him up and tucking him in to bed before making him his favourite hot chocolate. He'd then spent the night in San's room with him, hugging San tightly while he'd sobbed in to Yunho's chest on and off. In fact Yunho hadn't left San's side all week and San hadn't left the apartment. He hadn't even left his room, he'd just remained in bed the entire time. Staring at the wall or the ceiling blankly.

He'd moved only to attempt to search for Wooyoung online, it had proved futile every time he'd tried it before, but now he knew more of Wooyoung's situation...and more about Yeosang. He'd never been able to find anything by searching Yeosang before, because that wasn't the name he'd been known by as a King. San still didn't know that name, still didn't know his temple name, but he'd thought he might be able to find him with what Yeosang had let slip. So he'd tried to search for uprising's of the Goryeo dynasty, Kings being overthrown and eventually...he'd tracked down Yeosang with the power of Google, at long last.

He'd cried as he read the webpage, praising all the wonderful deeds and feats Yeosang had accomplished as King. How he'd changed lives, changed the Kingdom of Goryeo for the better. Making it a better place for all regardless of wealth or background. How he'd helped to shape Korea in to the country it was today by putting down the building blocks as he'd changed society, changed the way people were treated, and helped the commoners. But nowhere did it mention Wooyoung, or that Yeosang had killed him. Just as San had thought...the truth had never come out. It did mention Wooyoung's father, the King that had been overthrown by Yeosang's father...and who'd died 19 years later mysteriously. San would put money on it being one of the uncles, Yeosang had managed to summon up some sort of charge against them eventually, it would seem, as they'd been executed for treason. Yeosang hadn't even been King for a year when he'd killed Wooyoung. When he'd decided his throne and power were more important than the boy he supposedly loved. San still couldn't understand how a throne...a fancy, glorified chair, warranted stabbing the person he loved in the chest. San didn't think he'd ever understand that.

Nowhere on any of their pages, Yeosang's or Wooyoung's father's, did it mention Wooyoung. Nowhere did it mention the son of the overthrown King, no matter how much San searched, because as far as history knew...he didn't have one. Wooyoung had been taken in by the Lord he'd thought was his father, Lord Jung, who'd raised him as his own. Saved him and protected him. But San couldn't find the records for him either, at least not online anyway. He didn't know where such things were kept, especially when you considered that Goryeo was today North Korea. He didn't think he'd ever be able to access them and try to find Wooyoung through his adopted father. All San had managed to do was confirm that nobody had ever found out the truth about Yeosang. That he'd killed his best friend, his lover, in cold blood. To protect his power. Murdered the person he was supposed to love, that he'd claimed to love right as he'd killed him with his own hands, all retain his title as King. Was it really worth it?

Of course nobody even knew Wooyoung existed, that he'd been the rightful King. That he'd been a beautiful, kind boy who'd liked to read and had an infectious laugh that never failed to make you smile. Who despite being skilled with a sword didn't particularly like to fight unless he had to, but who would be prone to taking himself off to fire arrows at a target when something was bothering him, or he needed to vent his frustrations. That he'd been perhaps a bit too serious at points, but was capable of acting like a complete and utter child, so at odds with his usual demeanour and his noble attire. Who'd had a pout that San had always wanted to kiss away. Who could sulk, but never failed to look so, endearingly adorable to San when doing so.

Yunho hadn't asked any more questions after the initial ones he'd had in the doorway, he'd just made sure that San drank water and made him eat no matter how little he managed to get down. He'd even forced San in to the shower on multiple occasions. Other than that...he'd left him be. Instantly cuddling him whenever he burst in to tears, holding him tightly while he cried...making him cry harder because Yunho wasn't the person that San wanted to be holding him. That person was gone. That person would never be able to hold him the way that Yunho was. Still, he didn't ask. Offering comfort without questioning him, waiting for him to tell him in his own time perhaps. Yunho even slept in his bed with him, holding him tightly when he woke up in the middle of the night screaming after seeing Wooyoung die once again, the image of Yeosang's hand coated in Wooyoung's blood as he stabbed the dagger in to his chest..the life leaving Wooyoung's eyes, burned into his brain.

But after a week of this behaviour, of San staying locked up in his room, Yunho had obviously decided that something needed to be done. Which was how San found himself walking down one of the many bustling streets of Seoul with Yunho cheerfully trying to make conversation. San tried his best to respond, tried his best to keep the hopeful smile on Yunho's face and not ruin the mood that he was trying to create. He even tried to smile for the first time since he'd lost Wooyoung, but he didn't think he quite managed to pull it off, although to Yunho it must have been enough because he'd had a spring in his step ever since. Yunho was trying his best to cheer San up, to get his mind off of whatever it was that was bothering him even if he didn't know what exactly that was. They'd often spoken of Seoul, of visiting it together one day. Yunho hadn't accompanied San on the trip to the city that had resulted in his meeting Wooyoung, but he'd wanted to go and they'd promised that they would go together one day. Yunho had clearly decided that day was now, thinking that a road trip might help San get over...whatever it was that he needed to get over. San appreciated the effort, he really did. Yunho was a wonderful friend...but all San wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.

As they walked along the street, Yunho kept pointing things out to San, trying to engage him in a proper conversation and constantly on the look out for things that they could talk about or wonder at. San was looking at Yunho's latest attempt when he noticed a familiar structure rising up in the distance.

"I want to go there" San spoke suddenly, his voice the most steady and strong it had been all weak. Even he knew that. Yunho followed San's gaze, tilting his head curiously as he finally locked on to what San was looking at.

"Gyeongbokgung Palace?" San nodded his head, making Yunho smile at the first signs of enthusiasm San had shown for anything other than his bed in days. "Okay! Okay, we can do that! You said it was really beautiful inside and I've been wanting to go ever since you told me about it and see it for myself! Oooh you have to show me the pavilion that you told me about, it sounded so pretty!" Yunho chattered excitedly, pulling San along the street by the hand as his brain flashed to Wooyoung leaning on the railing of the pavilion, looking out across the lake and his heart clenched painfully at the memory.

San wasn't sure how long he and Yunho spent wandering the Palace, the latter gazing around at everything in wonder. Excitedly pointing things out to San, while San tried to muster an encouraging smile, or a suitable 'oooohh' of awe at whatever he was being shown. San had soon realised that this was a _very _bad idea. It was the place that he'd first met Wooyoung, and so he'd thought that he might feel...close to him here, or something. Instead the colours reminded him of the palace in which Wooyoung had died, his brain flashing back vividly to that exact moment. The two palaces weren't the same by any means, but the colour schemes were similar enough to bring the memories to the surface...and that horrible shade of red did nothing to keep his mind off of Wooyoung's death.

In time, they came upon the lake. The round artificial island perched atop the water, the hexagonal pavilion that was Hyangwonjeong rising up from it in two stories of green and red painted wood that matched the wooden bridge leading you across the water to it. Two sets of stone steps led up to to the pavilion, with two rings of grass encircling it. The wood really was beautifully painted, the design of the entire pavilion utterly exquisite, even if it did cause San pain to look at it. It was mostly painted green and red, the supporting columns of wood at the corners of the pavilion, the door frames, the stairs and the wood that made up the railings of the balcony were all that one particular shade of red. While the doors and walls, or at least the lattice of them, were painted a bright green along with the decorations on the upper balcony with other colours added to the green and red colour scheme to decorate the rest of the pavilion. Buildings could be seen across the lake, and a mountain rose up in the distance behind it all with trees decorating the grounds closest to the pavilion, and at the sides of the lake. The reds and oranges of the leaves complementing the colours of the pavilion, and yet to fall from the trees.

Yunho let out a soft 'woah' as he took in the site of the pavilion, and San would admit that it was quite a site at that, the taller mans gaze fixed on the building as he took it all in. San found that he couldn't quite bring himself to look at it for long, afraid that he'd imagine Wooyoung standing exactly as he'd found him that day...the day they'd first met. He was in no mood for his mind playing tricks on him anymore than it had done so already that day and he didn't think his heart could take the pain of it anymore that day. Having stared at the pavilion for a suitable amount of time to let the site of it sink in, and to take a myriad of pictures on his phone, Yunho started to tug San in the direction of the bridge. Eager to cross the lake and explore the pavilion for himself. San found his eyes straying up to the pavilion's second floor against his will...and to the red painted, wooden railing that ringed it.

His gaze caught on a figure leaning in a very familiar pose against said railing to the left, gazing out at the scenery across the water in the exact same position Wooyoung had been when San had first found him. He felt his heart speed up...right before it immediately dropped because Wooyoung was _gone, _he wasn't coming back and this person wasn't wearing the fancy silk that he'd always seen Wooyoung in. From what San could see he was dressed in a loose, knitted, pale blue sweater and what looked like light wash jeans. His hair was black...but it was far too short to be Wooyoung's. _Of course it's not him you idiot. He's gone, and he's not coming back because that stupid ritual that you insisted on finding, and insisted on doing didn't work. It vanished him away and you'll never be able to see him again...and it's all your own fault. _

But as much as he reminded himself that there was no way it could be Wooyoung, he'd seen to that himself, San couldn't stop his gaze from straying to the boy leaning against the railing. He was halfway across the bridge, Yunho still tugging him along, when San dug his heels in forcing himself to a stop. His breath coming fast because _I know that side profile. I'd know it anywhere. That's...that's Wooyoung but it can't be...it can't. He's...he's gone. He couldn't be here... _

San shook off Yunho's grip and started to walk again, his steps getting faster and faster the closer he got to the island and as his feet touched down on the first ring of grass he broke out into a run. Yunho calling out after him from somewhere behind.

"San?! What are you rushing for?!"

Ignoring his friend, San dashed up the first set of old stone steps and on to the grass topping it before tripping and stumbling over the stone that marked the edge of the second ring of grass, but that didn't slow him down and his feet were across the grass and up the next short set of stone steps. He ran across the red wooden boards of the pavilion, reaching the matching red wooden stairs that led up to the second level and running up them as fast as he could. Once he reached the top, his head snapped in both directions, before he reminded himself that it didn't matter which way he went, he'd get to Wooyoung either way...or the boy who resembled Wooyoung, the sensible, _logical_ thought cut in. San ran around the second level of the pavilion until he reached the side occupied by the person he'd seen from the bridge, jolting to a halt not very far from him. The figure...the body shape was familiar. Exactly as he remembered it in fact. He had familiar tanned, smooth skin. A familiar nose that San had longed to tap the end of whenever he was teasing it's owner. A familiar mouth, slightly pouted as the man gazed across the water...and a very familiar freckle decorating it.

_Wooyoung...it is him. It has to be. It can't just be someone that looks like him, he's got the exact same features, he's the exact same height. He even has Wooyoung's freckle...it is him. It's...it's Wooyoung, it can't be anyone else...can it? _

"Wooyoungie" San breathed, and the man turned to face him. _Those eyes...I know those eyes. It _is _him. It's Wooyoung. _

"Sannie!" the familiar voice was music to San's ears and Wooyoung's face lit up as he took in San. "I've been waiting for you" he pouted. San smiled, he couldn't help it even as a tear slid down his cheek, before rushing towards Wooyoung and throwing himself in to the other boys waiting arms. Wooyoung pulled him close, his arms tight around San and his face buried in San's neck, just as San's own face was buried in Wooyoung's. Breathing in his scent for the first time. San wrapped his own arms around Wooyoung's waist, pulling him closer and closer, wanting to be as close to Wooyoung as possible. _He's...warm. He's really warm, and I can feel his heart beating. He's...he's alive. He's really alive, it worked. The stupid ritual worked after all. _

San let out a laugh of disbelief in to Wooyoung's neck, feeling the other boy snuggle his face closer to him, his nose brushing lightly across San's skin. San would have to thank Yunho for dragging him on this trip despite how much San had very clearly _not _wanted to go. For being the best friend he could have asked for because if Yunho hadn't brought him to Seoul, hadn't made him come here...if Yunho hadn't gone along with San's request to come to the palace even if it hadn't been on the little list he'd made of things to do each day, for that day in particular, San would have wasted away in his room for who knew how long. He certainly never would have returned to Seoul, never would have returned to this pavilion and...he would never have found Wooyoung again. The boy going to the one place he thought San might think to look for him, because he hadn't been able to navigate his way to San on his own. Thanks to Yunho, San was finally in the arms of the boy that he loved the most in the world, just as he'd always dreamed of being, and he never wanted to let go of Wooyoung again.

**Author's Note:**

> See, wasn't I so nice not making you wait a couple days to read the happy ending? No need to thank me ;) 
> 
> I wanna know what to edit next, so let me know what you like the sound of: 
> 
> Vamps, magic or more ghosts?
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/writingaria)  
[Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/writingaria)


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